By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews
YACHATS – A lightbulb went on for Bobbi Price when she was visiting Pacific City and saw a free and quaint trolley shuttling people around town.
The Yachats Area Chamber of Commerce executive director thought if it can be successful there – why not in Yachats? And what better way to ease traffic and parking woes than provide a way for both residents and visitors to move easily from hotels and motels to downtown shops and local natural areas?
“I feel optimistic that a trolley would be well received and utilized by both visitors and locals,” Price said. “And I believe destination management is just as important as destination promotion alone.”
And so, with that in mind, the chamber along with the city decided to put out feelers to garner feedback from the public about bringing a trolley to town. Price sent out word via the chamber’s newsletter and posted about it last Thursday on the Yachats Village Residents Facebook page along with an attached link to a survey.
By Tuesday more than 52 people commented on Facebook and 151 responded to the survey on how interested they are in having a trolley that makes a few stops along a loop that runs from Tillicum Beach Motel in the north to Cape Perpetua in the south.
Eighty-one percent of survey respondents “agreed” or “strongly agreed” it would be beneficial to visitors and 73 percent agreed or strongly agreed it would relieve pressure on parking created by visitors. Sixty-three percent agreed or strongly agreed it would benefit locals. And 70 percent said it would add to the charm of Yachats.
The vast majority of feedback on Facebook favored the idea.
“Ojai, (Calif.) where I lived for 40 years has had one for many years and it is a great success,” wrote Maggie Anderson Paul. “I heartily endorse the idea. Keeps more cars out of downtown and adds convenience and charm to our already charming village.”
“This is so innovative and exactly the out of the box thinking that we need as we move forward in the face (of) the climate crisis!” Shannon Loucks wrote.
“We need to move into a direction that encourages people to actively cherish our environment,” added Renee Slade. “This may serve that goal.”
But there were also a few detractors who discouraged putting another vehicle on the road.
“There are so many folks in and through town that aren’t staying at hotels, and I can’t see folks staying at rental homes gathering at a ‘bus stop’ to ‘ride the bus’ (and calling it a trolley doesn’t make it not a bus),” wrote Munga Brown. “In my opinion, this would add to congestion, not minimize it.
While continuing to encourage people to take the survey, the chamber will also host a community meeting 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9 at the Yachats’ Commons. If the feedback continues to prove favorable, Price will present it to the city council.
“And if they give their blessing, then the chamber and the city will work together to pursue it,” Price said.
The hybrid gas-electric version of the 14-passenger trolley Price has her eye on costs $230,000. They are built by company called Hometown Trolleys based in Wisconsin. The plan would be to pay for it with a combination of grants and city lodging taxes.
If a trolley was ordered, the lead time for delivery is 8 to 9 months, which Price said would give the city time to put signs at stops and create guides for the route.
Travel Oregon competitive grants, which require a letter of intent by Aug. 18, have very strict rules on how its grants are spent, and the trolley fits perfectly into those parameters because it would “highly service visitors,” Price said.
Purchasing a hybrid also works into the city’s goal as stated in its master plan to encourage renewable energy sources. While an all-electric trolley would come closer to the goal, it is not feasible at this point because the batteries on the all-electric version don’t hold enough charge to make the distance it would need to travel each day.
“I think this (would) be a great addition to the community and a positive way to thread the needle between the resident sentiment on visitor impact and enhancing visitor’s experience,” Price said. “And I believe this (could) become a tourism attraction in its own right — that people will plan the flow of their day around riding the trolley.”
- Garret Jaros is YachatsNews’ full-time reporter and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com
Why not just improve the already existing Lincoln county transit? It may not be as cute as a “trolly” but it would be way more useful.
Mom and I rode the trolley all over Cambria along Moonstone Beach and to areas of town we wanted to browse shops. Stayed there a week. Rode every day. It was a blast.
Where will this trolley get it’s gas since there is no gas station in Yachats. When it leaves town to get gas it will slow traffic on Highway 101 because I doubt the trolley will go 55 mph on the highway. A trolley in Yachats is not a good idea.
I agree. And where would safe trolley stops be located? Which parking spaces would be commandeered and taken out of commission for another bus in addition to our Lincoln County transit which is already in existence? Yachats is too small and congested for this cutesy idea.
I agree with Wendy — put the money and mental energy into housing, instead of trying to turn Yachats into another Depoe Bay carnival.
I really feel we should provide affordable housing for our locals as a priority. Business owners can’t hire, because rentals and housing is so expensive. Let’s provide for our full-time residents first. I would be willing to work on a task force to help create a plan
The trolley pictured is totally out of synch with Yachats. We are not the Rice-A-Roni capital of the world. If we get one, it should be a LaDeDa Limousine of some sort. Adjustments and improvements to existing public transit may be a more effective solution.
The idea of a trolley system in Yachats has potentially farreaching ramifications – some could be positive and some could be negative. Trying to take this from the idea stage to a grant-ready plan in just a few weeks seems to be rushing things more than a little bit. It may be wise to remember that the last time the City rushed a project in an attempt to accommodate grant requirements and timing was La De Da Lane – and we know how that worked out.
The City has a process for considering new ideas of this sort and it starts with presentations to relevant City Commissions, followed by discussion and potential recommendations from those Commissions. The way this idea is being presented to the public is circumventing that process.
I don’t understand the need for a 14-person trolly and agree with comments about improving the already existing Lincoln County transit system. If the trolley only carries 14 people at a time-that’s only a couple of carloads. And what about wait times? Are people really going to wait around 45 minutes for a ride when they could easily hop in their car and get to where they’re going in about 20 minutes? Why not put those tax dollars into improving the potholed streets, affordable housing for workers, and adding additional parking. Maybe that big empty grass field could act as overflow parking?